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| Southeast Asia |
| Today Thai government says 'Malaysia can mediate' in South |
| 2007-02-16 |
| The government changed direction in mid-stream on Friday, agreeing to allow Malaysia to act as a mediator to negotiate a solution to the mounting security problem plaguing the South. "Malaysia will act as a mediator in the negotiations," Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont told reporters in Bangkok. His remarks directly reversed a statement on Wednesday by Foreign Minister Nitya Pibulsonggram that there were no plans to allow a Malaysian hand in any future negotiations - and claiming that the Malaysian premier had been misquoted on the subject by his own news agency. Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on his visit to Bangkok earlier this week suggested that Malaysia could mediate between the Thai government and separatist rebels in its three southernmost provinces of Narathiwat, Pattanai and Yala, where the majority of the population is Muslim, Malay-speaking and has strong historical and cultural ties with Malaysia. "Whether or not the situation improves depends on negotiations," Gen Surayud said. "Negotiations are the best way to solve the problem." He praised Malaysia for acknowledging that the security problem in the deep South was an "internal issue" and for not supporting the separatists. Mr Abdullah, during his visit to Thailand, also praised Surayud for adopting a conciliatory approach to the conflict, which has been marked by clashes, revenge killings, bombings and beheadings. Gen Surayud's conciliatory approach has yet to bear fruit. |
| Posted by:ryuge |